AN EAR TO THE STUDY OF BILINGUALISM/LINGUISTICS

Tag Archives: Linguistics

No, children do not get confused about languages. Bilingual children speak at least two languages. Instead of confusing the two, they have to learn what language(s) they can use with each person. They start learning fairly early on (before age 2) but this can be influenced by the language situation at home. If some children go through a period in which they mix languages, this is nothing to be worried about. Eventually all bilinguals end up with at least one native language, possibly two. If parents and/or siblings use both languages in communicating with the child then the child will at first naturally assume that everybody is bilingual and that it can mix both languages when speaking with other people. It might take a little bit for the child to figure out that the daycare teacher only speaks English. But eventually it will happen (rather sooner than later). Keep in mind that no healthy grown-up bilingual mixes up languages when speaking to monolinguals.

Mark your calendars and save these dates because the fall line-up for UIC Talks in Linguistics has been announced. All talks are scheduled on Fridays at 3 PM and will take place in University Hall 1750, located at 601 S. Morgan Street here in Chicago. We look forward to seeing you there for some interesting talks on a wide array of linguistic topics.

September 21: Masaya Yoshida, Northwestern (Psycholinguistics)

October 19: Kay González-Vilbazo, UIC (Code-switching)

November 2: Bernie Issa, UIC (SLA)

November 16: Craig Sailor, UCLA (Syntax)

November 30: Nicholas Henriksen, Michigan (Phonology)

Titles of the talks as well as abstracts will be announced closer to the dates listed for each.

Literacy News has a great litle blurb on a question all of us get on a regular basis: What do linguists do? Although it mentions a wide-variety of the avenues available in the linguistics field profession-wise, it does make clear a common misconception. That is, being a linguist does not mean that you are “fluent in five languages and spend your day thumbing through dictionaries.”

Chicago public radio station WBEZ 91.5’s Clever Apes focused on bilingualism recently. Be sure to check out their segment which highlights the benefits of being bilingual. It also includes an interview with Dr. Boaz Keysar from the University of Chicago who studies language and decision making.

The Latin American and Latino Studies Program and the Department of Hispanic and Italian Studies present:

When “foreign” languages aren’t foreign: Heritage speakers in the United States

Presented by:

Kim Potowski

Associate professor of Hispanic Linguistics at UIC

October 12, 2011, 12:00 p.m.

Rafael Cintrón-Ortiz Latino Cultural Center

Lecture Center B2, University of Illinois at Chicago, East Campus

“You’re in America Speak English.”

“Multilingualism threatens our national unity.”

“Today’s immigrants are not learning English as quickly as those of the past.”

These myths regarding language are fairly prevalent in the U.S. at the beginning of the 21st century. Approximately 20% of the U.S. population speaks a language other than English at home, yet several mainstream currents portray this linguistic diversity as a problem – with repressive and sometimes illegal results. But there have been growing countercurrents of awareness that heritage languages are in fact both a right for the communities that speak them and a resource for the nation generally, along with the understanding that there are good ways (and not so good ways) of promoting English language learning. Several cities have enacted initiatives to protect people’s right to maintain their heritage language without being accused of rejecting mainstream U.S. society, and several K-8 educational models teach other languages to our nation’s English monolingual children. This talk explores these issues making frequent reference to Spanish in the U.S. and to Chicago more specifically.

Kim Potowski is Associate Professor of Hispanic linguistics at the University of Illinois at Chicago, where she directs the Spanish for Heritage Speakers Program. Her research focuses on Spanish in the United States, and her book Language Diversity in the U.S.(Cambridge University Press 2010) profiles the 12 most commonly spoken heritage languages in the nation. She is currently completing a book about “MexiRicans” in Chicago.

Bring your brown bag lunch and refreshments will be provided – this event is free and open to the general public. For more information call LALS office at 312. 996.2445.